The Missing Husband
by CJgirlatheart
Summary: Disclaimer: I Don't own any of these characters. JAG needs NCIS help. This particular JAG officer knows what team to call. She just hopes they will help find her missing witness... The Clock is ticking and if it runs out an abuser, possibly killer will get away...
1. The Phone Call

"Special Agent Gibbs".. Gibbs answered his phone.

"Special Agent Gibbs, this is Major Lucia Campbell, from JAG".

"Hello, Major, What can I do for you?"

At the word, AgentTorres tilted his head a bit.. his sister was a Major, but it was probably just a coincidence.

"I need NCIS help and Capt. Roberts said I should call you"

"Anything we can do help" he said.

"I have a missing victim. He is the victim of serious spousal abuse. I know a male victim is unusual but in the words of my brother, my victims wife is bat shit crazy".

"Okay, what's the NCIS case no.?" He asked. "There isn't one. NCIS didn't investigate. The wife's command, Navy Facility Engineering Command, did their own investigation using their Master at arms, following her arrest by metro PD. They turned it over to the Navy". "NCIS didn't review the case" Gibbs asked. "They did, but the duty agent said it was sufficient and signed off on it" Campbell responded. "I was working with what I had and I had a good case but my victim is now missing. If I can't find him, i don't have a case."

"Can you bring the case over?" Gibbs asked. "I'll send my Legalman, I gotta be in court in 20".

"Okay" Gibbs responded and hung up.

"What's Up?" Bishop asked.

"Not sure yet" Gibbs responded.


	2. The Case

McGhee saw a young lady step off the elevator first. "Special Agent Gibbs?" she asked. Three hands point to Gibbs. "Hello Sir, I'm Petty Officer Holliday. Major Campbell told me to give this to you." She handed him a folder. "Major Lucia Campbell?" Torres asked. "Yes sir, she's my boss. You know her?" "Yeah, kinda. She's my sister" Nick responded. "Oh, you're the cute, annoying little brother. She's told us all about you." "Cute..annoying.. she would say that. Cute is for puppies, I'm not a puppy" Nick growled.. "what about annoying?" Bishop asked. Nick glared at her.

"Umm, the Major, said if you have any questions to call her anytime." The Petty Officer said. As she was making her way to the elevator, Gibbs opened the folder and tossed McGhee a thumb drive.

It had several photos of a male with bruises to his face, torso and back. It looked like he had been tortured. By the coloration of the bruises you could tell they all were made at different times.

"Jace Strand..26 years old, college student, married to a Petty Officer 2nd Class who is a Machinist Mate at the Engineering Center here at the Navy Yard" Bishop read from the file.

"Suspect is 25 year old Melissa Strand. Joined the Navy in 2016, after dropping out of college. She has been at the EC for 18 months." McGhee read from his computer.

Torres reading over Bishops shoulder said "she did all that?" He asked. "It says here she is a martial arts specialist and trains at the MMA gym in Alexandria" McGhee replied.

"Metro PD has been called to their residence three times in a four month period" McGhee read.

"How long they been married" Gibbs asked. "Um it says 6 months, but they were dating for 2 years"

"According to JAG, Petty Officer Strand has been counseled several times for aggressive behavior and received a captains mast where she got anger management and extra military instruction in lieu of it being on her permanent record" Bishop said.

"Why does Major Campbell think he is missing?" Gibbs asked. "Well no one at his job as seen him, no calls, no ATM or credit card activity in a week. His mom called the JAG office to inquire about his whereabouts and JAG sent her Master at Arms to his hotel where he had been staying. He wasn't in his room and it looked like he hadn't been there in a week. It does say here there was takeout still left on the table half eaten". "Ewww Kinda gross... " Bishop side remarked interrupting McGhee... "ahh, it looked like he left abruptly, Boss" McGhee finished.

"Was the scene processed" Gibbs asked. "No boss, it looks like they went this morning and that's what they found it. Major Campbell must have called you as soon as her guys told her what they found." McGhee said.

"Grab your gear" Gibbs said as he headed for the elevator.


	3. The Hotel Room

"Lucia, CALL...ME...BACK...ASAP" Torres left his 3rd message in his sister's phone.. he also put in 2 calls to her office.. "I'm sorry Sir, but the Major is still in a meeting" he was told.

"TORRES" Gibbs hollered at him. "Coming" He called back.

As Torres enter the hotel room, Bishop was on the phone trying to get the records for the phone in the room.. McGhee was taking photos. Torres looked at the food that had been on the table.. "ewwww week old sushi..." he stuck his nose up. "See if you can find a name, it looks like delivery so maybe that will help narrow the timeline down" McGhee directed.. Great, he was late coming into the room so he gets trash duty...

"Whatcha got" Gibbs asked when he came into the room.. "Well only two calls were made from the room since Strand has been here" Bishop said as she got off the phone. "One to the local post office and the other to a movie theater" "I've got blood on the bathroom handle, but it could have been from a small cut or something as it wasn't a very large sample. And it looks like only one person has been sleeping in the bed... no bodily..." "ummm, Gibbs, you might wanna see this" Torres cuts McGhee off. "What?"

Torres dumps the trash can on the table.. there in little pieces like it had been ripped up was a photo.. it was hard to see the entire picture, but it appeared to be a wedding photo. The groom did not look like Jace Strand. Torres started pulling the pieces out and trying to put it together. It picked up a piece and Bishop noticed a word on the back in red letters. "E..and a k or x" she said. It was hard to make out. "Send it to Kaci" Gibbs said.

Torres started collecting all the pieces he could find.. it looked like it was just half a picture. "Oh hey" here is a receipt for General Tao's sushi" Torres said. "It is stamped 5:34 pm Friday".

"I'll call them Boss and see what time they delivered" McGhee said.

"Okay, seal it up" Gibbs said told the Metro Patrol Officer standing by the door.


	4. Bullpen Conversation

When Torres entered the squad room from taking the evidence to Kaci, his sister was sitting at his desk.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.. "putting that chair to good use" Gibbs answered as he came around the corner.

"Just came to get an update" she said as she stood up to give her brother a hug.

"Well what are you waiting for" Gibbs said. "Give her an update".

"Ummm" Torres said as he looked around. Where was everyone he thought. McGhee and Bishop were no where to be found. "Well, we found a recipe for food on Friday. A wedding photo that was ripped up, blood...but not enough to think serious injury" he summarized.

"The picture, where is it" the Major asked. "It's with Kaci" Torres said. "Kaci?" The Major asked.. she knew everyone her brother worked with, if not by face by name. Kaci was new to her. "She is our new forensic tech. She took over for Abby" Torres answered.

"Was it my victims wedding photo?" The Major asked. "No" Torres said. "There was no bride in the photo, just the groom and it wasn't Strand" Torres responded.

The Major's phone beeped she looked at it but didn't recognize the number so she let it go to voicemail.

"Uhh, I got get back to the office to finish some paperwork, then head to Amanda's recital" the Major said. "Gibbs, is okay if I walk her out" Torres asked. Gibbs answered was a nod towards the elevator.

"What took you so long to answer my call" Torres scolded his sister. "I'm, a four letter word like Work" she responded.

"So do you think your guy ran or was taken?" Torres asked.

"Honestly I don't know. I know he is scared of his wife. He said their dating relationship was night and day different from their marriage. The abuse started right away. He said she seemed to enjoy it."

"We will find him" Torres promised. "Alive..." she asked spacingly.

The elevator opened and Bishop was standing there. "Hey" She said. "A, Bishop, you remember my sister Major Campbell?" Torres asked.. "Lucy" his sister interjected. "Ellie" Bishop replied. "Oh, you're..." "I'll walk you to your car" Nick interrupted. "See you upstairs in a few" he directed towards Bishop while pushing his sister toward the parking lot...

"So, Bishop and Ellie are the same person?" She asked. "Yeah, duh" he said. " No, no, no, you have inferred that they are two different people" I see why when I asked you to bring "Ellie" to dinner you said it was complicated. You didn't tell me "Ellie" was your partner Bishop" Lucia said smacking Torres on the shoulder.

"Look, like I said it was complicated" Torres said. "Rule 12". "Rule 12?" She asked. "It's complicated. Look I will call you with any leads, Okay" he said as a way of saying goodbye. "Okay" She said. As she watched him walk away she wondered if "Ellie" felt the same way about her lil brother as he felt about her. As she unlocked her door, she looked at her phone. 5 missed calls from 5 different numbers that she didn't know... that was strange...


	5. Kaci's News

Torres was about to step off the elevator when he realized that it stopped on the wrong floor. Kaci almost knocked him over she was so excited...

"Wow. Where's the fire" Torres asked her? "I did it!" "You did what?" Torres asked. "I put humpy dumpy back together again, or in this case humpy groom" she said a she handed him the picture pretty much taped together. "That's great" Nick said. The elevator dinged on the bullpen floor and Nick moved to the side so Kaci could get off first.

"Jethro...oh to soon for that" Kaci said when she saw everyone stop in their tracks and stare at her...including Jethro... "Okay um, Boss" she said using the term McGhee used all the time. "I put the groom back together" she said trying to focus on the case. "It was only the groom, you can tell the bride

was cut out on purpose and the writing on the back says "Your Next"... Gibbs was about to ask a question but Kaci continued "and the best part is I know who he is, well not like personally, I mean I found him in missing persons...

"Who is he?" Gibbs cut her off.

"His name is Michael Benson. 2 years ago he checked into a hospital in Athens GA, but disappeared before he could be seen. According to his missing persons report that his mom made he was married to a Sara Laser. And get this, I can't find any info for a Sara Laser. I tried all spellings. Oh and she disappeared to."

Gibbs looks at Bishop. "Call the mom. See if you can get any other information."

"What else" Gibbs asked Kaci. "Oh a, nothing really. All the prints belong to Strand and the blood matched his. It was a small amount, like maybe he cut it on glass or something" she said.

"McGhee, Sara Laser..find her now!" He said. Everyone scattered their separate ways.

—


	6. The Fight

The team had been going strong all day trying to find Strand and Sara Laser. He could tell they were burnt out.

"Everybody go home. We will start fresh in the morning" Gibbs said. As they started packing up the elevator dinged. Lucia steps off.

"Hello" She said as a greeting. "A Director Vance wanted to see me." She said. Gibbs pointed upstairs to the Directors office. "A boss do you want us to stay?" McGhee asked. "Naw go." He said. "Torres, Bishop, Go" Gibbs said when he didn't see them moving. "Ahhh I'll wait for Lucia and walk her out" Torres replies. "I am just finishing up this report" Bishop said.

It took 15 minutes for Lucia to come back down after going up. Nick met her at the bottoms of the stairs. "What was that about?" Nick asked. "Nothing. The Director just wanted to discuss the case and to see if there was anything else that needed to be done" "we are doing everything we can" "are you Nick? My victim is still out there or dead" "trust me. We are". There was that phrase "trust me" that was the thing Lucia didn't trust Nick. "Trust me" She said. "Trust you Nick! I don't. You are reckless. You don't follow rules." She said. The almost empty bullpen was watching brother and sister go at it. "Wait, What?" He asked. "Maybe I was" he said. "I doubt it. Look I'm glad you stayed, and Amanda gets to know her Uncle, but you are the reason our family is broken. Your reckless actions Nick. You expect us to forget" she said as she turned and headed for the elevator. "You're just going to leave he said as she got into the elevator. She gave him a death stare crossed her arms after pushing the down button. As the doors shut he wondered has he lost his sister forever.

He knew Gibbs and Bishop were watching him. He couldn't turn and face them. He turned to use the stairs to go to the gym in the basement. He needed to punch something.


	7. Flashback

She couldn't believe she embarrassed her brother like that, in front of his co-workers to boot. She was tired, frustrated and still grieving for her husband. She had called the Director about the phone calls she had been receiving. 8 calls from 8 different numbers and no messages. She couldn't go to her brother with it, he would become overprotective and she didn't trust Gibbs not to tell him. The Director promised her he would get to the bottom of it without alerting Nick. She hoped he would find something sooner rather than later. Amanda was waiting for her outside of the dance studio as she pulled up. "Hi mom". "Hey sweetie" she replied back. She wondered what Nick was doing now. Maybe she should call him, or have Amanda do it...to see if he wanted to come to dinner…...meanwhile across town…..

….. Torres had just spent 3 hours working his frustrations out on the punching bag. His arms and fist were beat. But his mind was still going a mile a minute. The night guard had peeked in on him four times. Bishop stopped by on her way out. She looked like she was about to say something but he gave her a look and she left without a word. Great he thought she's mad at me to. He was just driving thru the city. His thoughts kept going back to the day Lucia had been discharged from the hospital after the car fire. She had been alone in her room as she had sent Amanda to the cafeteria. l He tried to make conversation with his sister but she wouldn't talk to him. He had finally asked the one question that was on his mind. "Lucia, why did you go to Argentina ?" She finally looked at him. "Why?" she said. "We didn't know what happened to you. You just disappeared. Your family didn't know, NCIS didn't know. We all thought you were dead. DEAD. Nick. Dead. I needed to know. So yeah, when I found out that you could be alive, I had to find out." "Lucia.." "No, Nick you don't get to be the victim here. My husband is dead. My daughter a has no father. Next time you go off and try to save the world by yourself I won't stop you." He didn't know what to say. He had just got up and went back to NCIS HQ, where he ended up making the best decision he had ever made. Becoming part of a team. He wasn't surprised when he pulled up to the dark house. He went to ring the door but remembered the door was never locked. He found Gibbs in the basement working on his boat. "Gibbs, I messed up." "yeah, two years ago, but not now Nick." Gibbs replied. "But Lucia.." "She knows..she'll come around. We just need to help her by finding Strand." Gibbs cut him off. After standing there for a few minutes, Gibbs finally looked up at him "You just gonna stand there or are you going to help"? Gibbs asked. As Torres picked up a sand block he wondered if Gibbs would give him a stake in the boat considering he has spent at least three nights a week helping build the thing. He didn't even like boats.


End file.
